Queen
by wishes of falling stars
Summary: AU After a twist of fate that leaves Zelda alone, lost, and without any knowledge of herself or where she came from, her quest for self-identity leads to a destiny-and a pain - far greater than she could have ever imagined…
1. Prologue

A/N: This is my first attempt to create a Legend of Zelda Fanfiction, and also my first attempt at a multi-chaptered story, so please bear with me and offer me advice, criticism, etc. I don't really care...

Basic Summary: In a twist of fate, Zelda lives a life as a commoner, with no knowledge of who she is or who her true parents are, but when a tragic occurence happens, her quest to find out who she is leads to a destiny, love, and pain beyond her wildest dreams. There will be plenty of Link and Ganondorf, although Link doesn't come on till a couple more chapters (tear) and there will be action, romance, psychology, tragedy- it's Zelda, can I do anything less?

So please give it a shot, and I hope you enjoy.

1/12/10: I had a version of this story up, but only about half the chapter, so if you already clicked on this and read it, read it again, because I added a lot more stuff, so it should be more interesting.

* * *

It was a dark and stormy night, with furious winds that cut through the onslaught of rain that fell like speeding bullets while the skies rumbled with roars of thunder and flashes of white lightning illuminated the swollen, mottled black and green mushroom clouds that loomed across the horizon.

Lightning struck again, and the sky flashed green then gold before it finally faded to black.

"It-see-seems like a ba-bad omen, doesn't it Impa?" panted a extraordinarily beautiful, but sweaty and disheveled young woman, no later than her mid-20's to a tall, stern-looking woman, age impossible to tell, dressed in the clothes of a Sheikah.

'Funny it should b-be like th-this, especially to-tonight. I've- n-n-never se-seen such a storm like this-before, as if- the –very goddesses –were-p-punishing-this-l-land for some great unspoken e-evil or warning us of an e-evil to c-come"

The woman called Impa frowned. "Your highness should not speak so much. Save your strength for the long ordeal out in front of you."

"Ah, I was merely making an-observ- AHHHHHHHHHH! The young woman screamed and writhed in pain, clutching at the ropes that hung over her bed.

Impa rushed over to the bedside. "Stay calm your highness. Breathe in, breathe out. Keep Pushing. And whatever you do, do not stop"

The woman screamed again as she was sent into a wave of fresh pain.

--- --- ---

He let himself soak in the rain.

He had stopped his army here. How close he was now to his goal…

After weeks, months, years of searching for it, plotting his way across the barriers that guarded it, gathering those thrice-cursed stones, he had finally done it. In a little pouch attached to his armor contained the key to ultimate power, power that would finally let him take Hyrule from the wasteful and scornful Hylians and let his own people prosper.

Yes, soon he, King of the Gerudo, Ganondorf Dragmire would have the ultimate power, power to rival even the gods.

He threw back his head and laughed, a booming, raucious, manic laugh that not even the roar of the thunder could drown out.He opened the doors to the Temple of Time.

--- --- ---

Rauru, head priest of the Temple of Time, looked in on shock to the towering figure in front of him with his army of darkness behind him. "Lord Dragmire, What are you doing here??!! The Temple is closed at this hour and-"

"Greetings, Head Priest Rauru, show me to the Door of Time" commanded Ganondorf.

"But the only thing held in the Door of Time is…" Rauru turned starch white. "You can't possibly mean-"

Ganondorf grinned wickedly. "Yes, the Triforce, the vessel of goddesses and of eternal power!"

"But you can't be serious, the Triforce is kept locked up, without the keys you cannot open the door-"

"I am deadly serious, and I already have the keys, right here" Ganondorf patted his pouch.

"But you must not attempt it; the Triforce was sealed away for a reason, no mortal should have that sort of absolute power of the goddesses in their hands; it will bring doom and destruction to Hyrule if you claim it for your own, You must not do this!!!!" Rauru shouted, in a voice of terror.

"I tire of talking with you , if you will not show it to me, then I will find it myself and I will make it so I do not ever have to listen to you again. Do I make myself clear?"

Rauru turned even paler but firmly stood his ground.

"So that is your choice. Attack!" barked out Ganondorf to his army, which immediately started to swarm towards the old man in white.

"FARORE"S WIND" cried out Rauru and he disappeared in a ribbon of green light, just before a stalfos skewered him with a sword.

Ganondorf walked over to the spot Rauru formerly stood. "Hmph. A clever old fool. But a fool nonetheless. Does he really think this pitiful light barrier will stop me, the greatest dark sorcerer of all time, from passing, HA, there is nothing anyone can do now!" and as he said this, he waved his arms up in the air and ripped a seemingly invisible substance from thin air.

He opened the pouch and greedily sank in the sight of the ruby, the sapphire, and the emerald. He placed in their allotted slots and the door began to glow dimly with an inner light and something more intangible burned brighter and brighter until it suddenly flashed, and the door rolled back so he could stride in.

--- --- ---

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" screamed the young woman, the soothings and calls of the Sheikah mostly ignored.

"Your highness, it will be alright; pull yourself together, there's not much more left. Do you need some water or any wet towe-"

She seized Impa's hand, but said nothing.

Impa raised an eyebrow. "Your highness, do you want something?"

But she ignored all words and shifted her eyes around the room like a hunted animal about to be cornered. Her eyes rolled from white to black to milky blue and she started to moan and wail.

What was going on? Impa had seen many births before but she had never seen something like this occurring during any of them.

With considerable worry and concern she asked "Your highness, are you alright?"

She spoke with a deep, guttural sigh. "I-I-It;-It's-C-Co-Coming, It's C-Coming, My Baby, M-M-My Po-Poor B-B-Baby, Don't-D-Don't Let H-H-Him Ge-Ge-"

"Your Highness, I need to know what's coming; it is of the utmost importance, you must tell me everything you can, you must," asked Impa, becoming more troubled by the second. Was it possible that she was having a vision?

"I-I-It's-"

--- --- ---

The room was bathed in a golden light, radiating from the center of the room, clashing with the dark figure that stood in it.

The Triforce. Such a simple thing, three pieces of gold, no decorations or adornments, yet it was the most beautiful and the most powerful thing in this world, and if he stretched his arms out a little more, he could reach out and touch this vessel of the Goddesses…

Slowly, but not hesitantly, he reached and touched the triforce.

A magnificent beam of light unlike anything he had ever seen before came down from the heavens onto Ganondorf ,and he had to kneel from the weight of it.

It was like his mind was ripped from his body and cast away in a foreign ocean; he could hear everything and anything that was going on, see all of Hyrule, from the most minute leaf to the vast mountains, and it was too much, he couldn't take it, he was going to die…

But the power, the power was overwhelming! He could feel every atom in his body tingling, overloaded with divine strength, yearning to break free, to be released. With the Triforce, he could not only take over Hyrule, but countries, the world, the heavens. He laughed and laughed and laughed until he heard the whisper.

"_Ganondorf Dragmire, finder of the Triforce, we have a test for you,_" said a woman, yes he was pretty sure it was a woman, in a voice of the wind rustling the leaves of a tree.

His eyes narrowed. "Who are you and what do you want?"

"_Who are we; we are the very land you walk on, the sun in the sky, the very grass between your feet, the clear water of the lake, the crumbling sands of the Desert, the fire of the mountain. We are the Sheikah, Gerudo, Gorons, Kokiri, Zora, Hylians; We are Hyrule,"_ said another woman, this one with the raspy voice, like the sun baked sand sliding down a dune.

"_It is not what we want, but what you want that is the question. So then tell us, King of the Gerudo, what is it, more than anything in the world that you want?"_ whispered the wind rustling through the leaves.

"_Choose wisely, your answer will determine if you deserve the gift of the goddesses_," said yet a different woman with a voice as cold and clear as the blue surface of the Lake.

"Power. I want the power of the gods. The greatest thing in the world is power, and with power I can control myself, my people, Hyrule, the world; I can do anything I want to and I can be whatever I want to be!" exclaimed Ganondorf.

A cold wind blew, wildly and furiously, tearing Ganondorf away from the Triforce and above the strong gale he could hear the mysterious women shouting.

"_**You have answered incorrectly, you are not worthy**_," all three voices blended into one, into a great, but terrible melody, and the light began to fade.

"No…No…NO!!! YOU CANNOT DO THIS! I AM GANONDORF DRAGMIRE AND I WILL BE ALL-POWERFUL, I WILL BE ALL-POWERFUL!"

He looked around, wild and frantic, "SHOW YOURSELF! WHAT RIGHT DO YOU HAVE TO TAKE IT FROM ME! I FOUND IT, IT WAS ME!" He let out an energy field of darkness that covered the entire room, that would've incinerated anyone in its range,

yet the Triforce kept fading and the whispers kept echoing in his ears. "_You_ _are not worthy, You are not worthy, You are not worthy_…"

"NO ONE WILL STOP ME FROM GETTING IT, NO ONE, NOT EVEN YOU!!!" howled Ganondorf, and in a last desperate attempt, he lunged at the now transparent Triforce and latched onto the top triangle. Overwhelming pain shot through his arm, his veins full of molten lead and lightning bolts, and he screamed, but he held on.

The Triforce burned impossibly bright that it scorched his eyes, yet he held on, his arm was so numb he could not move it, and then impossibly, the Triforce began to shudder and shake, violently, until it split apart and for a moment, was suspended in the air, a beacon of light.

Almost too fast to see, two flashes of golden light started spinning, spinning so fast the Triforce pieces now looked like balls of fuzzy light. In a blink of an eye, the balls of light suddenly shot past the stone walls of the temple to some unknown destinations, and the room went pitch dark, save for the golden outline of a triangle on a dark fist and the eerie light of yellow eyes.

--- --- ---

"M-M-My B-Ba-Baby, My Po-Poor Baby, P-P-Promise Me Im-pa, whatever happens, you'll lo-look after h-h-her" she sobbed uncontrollably.

"Milady, pull yourself together. Your baby is going to be perfectly fine and so are you. Now, push!" barked out Impa.

"P-Pro-Promise me, Impa, Promise me!"

Impa imperceptibly softened. "Alright, I promise."

"Good," the young woman relaxed and seemed to be at peace.

Suddenly a flash of golden light illuminated the night sky, and flew straight at the young woman, and Impa, being the Sheikah bodyguard she was, leapt in front of the light's path only to have it move through her and straight into the belly of the woman lying on the bed.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

She started screaming, writhing, and shaking, as if filled with the most unbearable pain, and hearing the ear-splitting screams gave chills down Impa's spine, as if she was screaming with the voices of a thousand tortured souls.

She was in no condition to talk, so Impa quickly made her way to the Queen and checked her body for any parasites, sore spots, anything that might cause her to be like this, and gasped, "Milady, I see a head coming out."

Impa rose her voice to be heard above the screams. "Milady, you only have to push just a little bit harder now. If you can hear me, do it now, do it for your unborn child."

The screams stopped and grunts and moans started, and she pushed and pushed and pushed until with a sudden pop! she screamed one final time, and spoke no more, except for the tiniest whisper.

"Well, Impa, how is she, how is my baby?"

But Impa had no answer as she pointed a shaking finger to the beautiful baby girl's forehead, where thin golden lines had etched out the shape of a triforce.

--- --- ---

Ganondorf was foaming at the teeth, like a rabid dog, muttering the blackest curses and oaths, striking down anything or any of his unfortunate followers that were foolishly in his path as he paced back and forth outside the Door of Time

He had been so close, _so close, _to achieving the ultimate power and-

"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL! I swear I will get all the pieces of the Triforce, I'll swear it until my dying day, and then even you will not be safe, I will come and feast on your hearts, drink your blood, and then burn the rest of you down; do you hear me, every single one of you will perish and suffer on a pain a thousand times greater than I have suffered and ever will!" bellowed Ganondorf, as his yellow eyes gleamed with a terrifying mix of rage, mania, and gold.

"Um, but Lord Ganondorf, don't you alr'dy have a piewce of the Triforce- I mean why not just use that and take over Heey-rule, you don't need the other pie-GAH!" The Moblin's words were cut short as Ganondorf plunged his sword straight in the middle of his forehead, splattering viscous, tar-like blood all over his shiny armor.

"_You fool,_" hissed Ganondorf. "Do you really think I would be content with a third of the greatest power on earth, power that I know the full extent and damage of, two thirds of that power with some being or thing other than me, and you think I'll be ok? Did it ever cross your thick skull that perhaps might have a foe who is equal or greater in terms of power compared to me? "

"Lord Ganondorf-" ventured a Gerudo.

"No, do not call me Ganondorf. Ganondorf is the name of a man, and from this day on, I am not a man. I am Ganon."

And as he said this, his army could not help but stare in awe and terror as they regarded their leader, towering, with flame red hair, tarnished black armor, eyes of a feral beast, glowing fist, all splattered with the brackish green and faded crimson of fresh and dried blood, a man, could he even be called one, more demon than man.

"Long live Lord Ganon!" It had started quietly at first but erupted into a hideous cacophony of Moblins, Darknuts, Re-deads screaming, grunts, squeals, howls, yells, war cries, thumps, hisses- all crying out, "Long live Lord Ganon, Long live Lord Ganon, LONG LIVE LORD GANON!!"

Ganon smiled, but the words that came out of his mouth were scalding. "Well, what are you all still doing here? GO FIND THE TRIFORCE BEARERS AT ONCE!!!"

And so his army fled from the Temple in waves, like water spreading from a drop to inflict terror and devastation on the people of Hyrule for many years to come…

"_Ex obscurum ut sedeo in meus somes quod in meus animus , orior oriri ortus a umbra in statua of unus quisnam iacio is,"_ murmured Ganon in a strange tongue, as the candle flame began to dim and the wind blew where none had been before and a strange pool of darkness gathered in puddle before his feet and then morphed into a copy of Ganon, perfectly identical, except for the fact that this Ganon seemed to be made of shadow.

"What is thy bidding, Master?" croaked out Phantom Ganon, as he knelt to the ground.

"I have a task for you. Go and find the bearers of the Triforce. I have given you a little taste of my powers to help you in this mission. But be warned though," Ganon's eyes and voice hardened. "I do not want to lay my eyes upon you unless you bring me a body with a Triforce or a piece of it itself, and if you disobey…

SNAP! Ganon snapped his fingers and Phantom Ganon kneeled over in pain.

"That hurt, didn't it? Don't worry, I only removed a non-essential organ, so you'll live. But just remember that I created you, and I can destroy you just as easily, so for your sake, do not disappoint me…"

"Un-Understood, Master" wheezed Phantom Ganon.

"Good." Ganon turned to the only window in the room, where the faint outline of Hyrule Castle and he raised his fist toward it, causing the golden glow of the triforce to grow even stronger. "Curious, how curious," he murmured to himself, and in a louder voice he spoke to Phantom Ganon again.

"Oh, and by the way, I suggest you start with Hyrule Castle."

And as soon as Phantom Ganon stampeded out of the Temple of Time, Ganon completely slumped over on the ground, utterly exhausted by the night's events.

--- --- ---

"What is it?" breathed out the Queen.

"The Triforce," said Impa, in equal shock and awe. "The legendary vessel of the three goddesses, Farore, Din, and Naryu, said to contain unimaginable power, locked away in the Sacred Realm for none to ever lay their eyes on"

"But isn't that just an old legend? How did it get on my little girl? How do we get it off?" pleaded the young Queen to her bodyguard.

"No, it is real. We Sheikah have known about it since the ancient times, and it led to our downfall. The mark on your child's forehead is further proof, and how it got on there, I do not know. The only plausible explanation I have is an old Sheikah legend."

Impa paused for a moment before she spoke again. "You might have heard this before, but I will tell you again. The Triforce is said to reside in the Sacred Realm, a magical realm that is much like a mirror, one that reflects the true nature of the bearer of the Triforce. It is said that if a person of pure heart then they will gain the True force and the Sacred Realm will become a paradise, but if the person that holds the True force has an unbalanced heart, the Triforce would split, leaving one for the person that best represented his or her true nature while the other two pieces would be held by two other individuals, chosen by destiny. Until all three pieces are brought together, a dark age will settle over Hyrule…"

"But it's just a legend; it's only a legend; it can't be real, it can't be real!" hysterically laughed the young woman, "It just can't be!"

"Milady, get a hold of yourself! Whether you believe or not, your daughter has a piece of the Triforce, and for your daughter's best interests, we have to decide how we are going to deal with it."

"Will it ever go away?"

"I doubt it. The Sheikah have a saying, "The shadow does not grow any lighter" about equivalent to the Hylian saying, "Once marked by the goddesses, always marked by the goddesses." I fear it is so for her. She will have a hard life, with it. People will not understand her, and what they do not understand, they fear and what they fear, they shun, eliminate, destroy. Also, the threat that someone will kill her in hopes of taking her piece of the Triforce is a threat that may forever hang over her life."

The Queen's eyes went wide. "But why _her_?"

"Only the goddesses know now," trailed off Impa as they resumed their stare of the mark that graced the baby's forehead, and they were silent, until the Queen spoke a single word.

"Zelda"

"What?" asked Impa.

"Her name will be Zelda. May she grow to be strong in body, soul, and mind as the grey women warriors in the tales of old, and live a much happier life than they did. May she have the strength to overcome the curse the Triforce has brought upon her!" the Queen chanted, in clear, ringing tones, as if her voice could bring magic to the blessing, then weakly collapsed against the bed.

As the Triforce started to grow brighter, the newly christened Zelda, silent up to now, started wailing, her loud cries echoing across the room.

Impa strode over to Zelda and picked her up. "Child, what bothe-"

BOOM! A ball of blue electric energy exploded right next to Impa, in the place where Zelda rested a mere second ago, causing her to accidentally drop Zelda onto the large bed where Zelda broke into louder wails.

A dark gray fog appeared in the room, and Impa could barely make out the outline of a huge, humanoid figure at the door.

However, she managed to cough out, "Who are you, and what do you want?"

A raspy, metallic voice answered, "I am…Phantom…Ganon…Give Me…The…Child"

And the figure walked closer, so Impa could clearly see the dark red eyes, plated armor, large horns.

"You can't have her, never in a million years, you brute!" shouted the Queen at Phantom Ganon's back, causing him to turn around and fire another energy orb at the Queen, and her cries of pain momentarily drowned out the wail of her child.

"Give…Me…The…Child…If you…want to…live…"

But Impa, quick as a flash, scooped up the baby Zelda in one arm and with the other threw a Deku nut with unerring accuracy at Phantom Gannon's eye, causing him to roar in pain and cover his eyes.

In the meantime, Impa dashed over to where the Queen was slumped on the floor. "Milady, Milady, are you alright??" she asked as she shook her body.

"I-I'm- cough, cough- alright, but Impa-" she stopped, unable to speak from coughing, -you must promise me that no matter what, you will protect Zelda, even at the cost of my own life, do you understand me?"

Impa looked straight into the determined eyes of the Queen and nodded.

The Queen relaxed. "Good-"

A series of blue energy orbs sped their way towards Impa, and she dodged, swerved, ducked every single one of them, except for the last one, which hit her leg and fell her to the ground.

"I…warned you…GIVE…ME…THE…CHILD…" thundered Phantom Ganon, fully recovered and towering over Impa, blocking any exits or escapes.

"Never" spat out Impa, and began praying to the goddesses fervently as Phantom Ganon raised his hand to silence them both. _Please, oh please let this child marked by your own hand, let her survive…_

But just before Phantom Ganon was about to release the energy bolt; with an inhuman shriek, the Queen leapt at the dark knight, landing on his shoulders and clawing his head with all the strength of a mad and desperate woman.

Enraged, he lost his focus on Impa and the child and turned all of his attention to the woman that was now clawing his backside.

"Milady!" cried Impa.

"Go-just go! Sa-Save Zelda! You Must Save Zelda-" the Queen fell to the floor with a cry, as Phantom Ganon plunged his sword into her stomach, silencing forever, turning back to the Sheikah and the Princess…

Only to let out a cry of rage and fury to find that Impa and Zelda were no longer there, already fast on their way to escape the castle and ride to Kakariko Village, where they would start a new life…

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Please Review!

Just in case you are curious, Ganon's spell to create Phantom Ganon is just this sentence translated into Latin: From the darkness that resides in my body and in my soul, rise a shadow in the image of one who casts it!


	2. Zee

A/N: Ch. 2 is up! It's mostly a character developing chapter, so there's not much action....that's for the next one, if everything goes the way it should. If any of you have seen the Korean Drama, Queen Seondeok, this chapter might feel sort of familiar to you, so I admit it. Most of the ideas from this chapter are from that drama, and an excellent drama it is, so hopefully my story lives up to that standard. There are a couple of cameos in here by characters from Oot (Hint, Hint: they're all from Kakariko!), so keep an eye out for that. I really don't have anything more to say, except as always, enjoy and review!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zelda or the drama Queen Seondeok**

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15 years later...

-

_Night had settled over Death Mountain like a blanket, covering all she laid her eyes upon with a dark shadow, cloaking the monsters that roamed in the dark and shielding the dreamers fast in slumber. And it was in this dark night, that not a light could be seen, except for a small pinprick of fire, on a winding, craggy cleft, that illuminated the silhouettes of two, weary travelers… _

"…So in the end, I lost them both, the woman and the child, and here I am today, still searching…" quietly spoke a tall, mysterious man, clothed in a rich, red silk robe and covered by a crimson headdress, which cloaked his face in shadow and made his expression impossible to read.

"It must mean a lot to you then, to have searched for them for this long, without ever finding a trace of them. Mister, aren't you going to give up?" asked the young girl guide, dressed in simple, brown traveling clothes, clothes that did nothing for her pale skin, long, blond hair, or midnight blue eyes. Although physically, she wasn't quite beautiful, there was some hidden glint in her eyes, something vivacious, something regal in her manner, that charmed you, tricked you into thinking she was somehow more than she seemed…

Seeing as the man had no answer, she asked another question. "Don't you think they might be dead?"

The man stared past the girl, into the fire and spoke, as if awakening from a deep sleep. "I will not give up… I cannot. Every time I am so close to finding them out, but every time they slip away, from Castletown to Kakariko… No they are not dead, even if they were, it would not matter…"

The girl cocked her head to the side, confused. _What does he mean?_

"So is that your reason for coming to Kakariko? To find the woman and the child you've been searching for? If you want, maybe I can help. What are their names? I've lived in Kakariko all 15 years of my life, so I know everyone in it pretty darn well, and if I can't find them for you, no one can!" proudly exclaimed the young girl.

But the man stood perfectly still, and spoke in the same manner as before. "Child, do you know how long I've been searching? 15 years. 15 years of wandering, listening to rambling talks, engaging in different ventures; so long, the image of my master is getting dimmer. I've been wasting my life, searching for them for 15 years, and I haven't caught them yet. What makes you think that _you _would be able to find them? No, I came to Kakariko to talk to the Happy Mask Salesman, I've heard that he has an item that might be ah, _quite useful, _for me."

_You'd think that after 15 years he might want some help_, thought the girl, annoyed at the way she had been rebuffed. "Thank your lucky stars, mister. You definitely came to the right person. I know the Happy Mask Salesman personally, so I'll be able to introduce you, if you want."

"Your Hylian is remarkably good for an uneducated country lass. Where did you learn to speak the Castle Town Dialect?" asked the man, his eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion.

"Uneducated country lass??!!" the girl spluttered out. "For your information, mister, I've been taught by my mother ever since I was 3, and you wouldn't believe how much she made me learn. I swear, sometimes Mother is more like a slave driver, than she is a parent…but I think she lived in Castletown for most of her life, and I did learn all my Hylian from her, so that's probably why I sound like a fancy noble living in a castle."

She suddenly gasped. "Hey, look , over there! You see that distant peak, not the one in front of us, but the one behind it? Legend has it that at the very top, there's a magical spring up there, the home of the fairies, and if you drink the water from it, you'll have eternal health and youth." A far away, misty look entered her eyes, and she seemed to have forgotten the man entirely. "Wouldn't it be wonderful if I actually got to see it?"

She was lost in her reverie for a moment, until she spotted a gelatinous mass. "Oh, Look! It's a ChuChu!" exclaimed the girl, and without another word, promptly took out a bottle, scooped it up, and held it out for the man to see. "You wouldn't believe it, but it hurts when these things jump out at you. But this'll make good trading material. The Happy Mask Salesman loves Chu Jelly; I think he said that he makes some of his masks with it? I don't know, but we're very lucky to have found one here; ChuChus aren't very common around here."

"Don't you have to kill the Chu first before you get the jelly?"

"Meh, it'll die in that bottle…eventually…"

The man looked like he was beginning to have serious doubts on the sanity of his guide. "Why are we wandering so much? Don't you have a map or something?"

"Don't worry so much, mister, I don't need a map. Some people who travel through this area do use maps, but my guides are the stars in the night sky," she said as she waved her arms across the sky to emphasize her point. "One time, when I was about 9 or so, I got lost up here, and I was really scared. It was starting to get dark and everything and I didn't have a map. I didn't know what to do, so I started crying. But through my tears I could see the stars, especially Polaris, and I remembered what I read about in my book that day, how you can use the stars and Polaris to guide you, so that's what I did. I got back home safe and sound, and even my mother was impressed with me. I've been using the stars to guide my way ever since."

They continued to ride through the rocky valley in a comfortable silence, neither one having anything else to say, until the guide unexpectedly stopped her horse at a small outcrop of rock and blocked the narrow path, so that the man could not pass.

"What is it?" called out the man in some annoyance.

But the girl was uncharacteristically somber, and her hard blue eyes seemed to pierce through robe and shadow to his very soul, as if she was trying to find something in there…

"What's your name mister?" she spoke out sharply.

The man leaned forward in surprise; out of all the things to ask, he hadn't expected her to ask for his name. "Why do you need to know?"

Her eyes narrowed. "Just tell me your name, or else I'll refuse to take you any further."

"It's P-Aghanim, It's Aghanim."

And once he had said his name, she broke into a grin and clapped her hands. "What an unusual name you have Mister Aghanim! But it's alright, I quite like it. Sorry for browbeating you back there, but it's a special policy of mine that before I take anyone into Kakariko, I have to know their names first. You wouldn't believe how many criminals come and take this route into Kakariko Village from Castletown, and well, once I know their names, it's not too hard to lead them to Sheriff Wycliff and see if he knows them too. But relax, I wasn't planning on taking you to the Sheriff anyways. This is going to sound sort of strange, but you feel sort of _familiar…_"

And Aghanim, furious at how easily he was subject to a mere girl's whim, took his anger out on his guide. "Well, if you weren't going to take me to the Sheriff, then why did you ask for my name?"

But the girl kept smiling, and if anything, seemed to become more relaxed, more serene. "Why? I just wanted to know your name. Names are pretty powerful things, you see. My mother always used to tell me that, above anything, people are scared of the unknown, and learning the name of something or someone helps cast away that shadow. In a way I guess, names are powerful things."

"Plus, I didn't want to keep calling you just mister."

_Names have power…Names…Names _He squinted at the girl. Had he met her before? No, he definitely would have remembered her, if he had met her. "What's your name?"

"It's Zee"

_Zee…What was her name again? Z-_

And before he could finish his train of thought, his guide started to wave her arms excitedly. "Look, Mister Aghanim," glowed Zee as she pointed to a valley of dim, glowing balls of light. "It's Kakariko Village. At this rate, we'll be there by morning."

--- --- ---

CLOSED

_Til 8:00 PM _

_Wait For Happiness and it will come to you!_

_~Happy Mask Salesman_

"Closed, by the goddesses, what does he mean he's closed?" exclaimed not Aghanim, but Zee, with some frustration. "I made sure that we got here by morning, so you would be able to see him, since his shop usually closes at night, but he just _had to_ go and change the times again. Huh" She let out a huffy breath after her rant, and turned to Aghanim.

"I'm sorry. You won't be able to see him till about 8:00. In the meantime, why don't I get you a room at the inn, so you can relax or get some rest."

Aghanim simply nodded in response.

--- --- ---

"Mother, Mother!" called out Zee, having taken her companion to Kakariko Village Inn, which was a small inn, yet a clean and well-kept one, so business there was fairly steady, although today the inn was completely free of people.

"My mother actually helped found most of this town, and she sort of runs most of it, working out the problems and everything. Except she worked so hard helping other people build their houses that we never actually built our own. So the inn-keeper lets us stay here, free of charge, for our services, and my mother should be here around this time" explained Zee to Aghanim, who showed no signs of paying attention to what she was saying.

"Don't yell so loud when you're indoors, Zee" smoothly said Impa, suddenly appearing right behind Zee, startling the poor girl and causing her to jump forward, into a chair.

"Mother, must you always sneak up on me like that?" winced Zee, as she was rubbing her now bruised knee.

"It keeps both mine and your reflexes top-notch, so I see no reason why I should stop."

Zee grumbled incoherently. _Well, easy for you to say; you aren't the one who always ends up on the ground or with bruises._

Impa pretended that she didn't hear what Zee said. 'What are you doing here anyways?" she asked.

Zee's eyes lit up. "Oh, that's right! I have a traveler here who wants to speak with the Happy Mask Salesman, except he isn't in yet, so I decided to come here to get him a room. Are there any available?"

"Yes, there are a couple of the smaller ones," said Impa, a little distractedly, looking over Zee's shoulder to analyze her companion. She couldn't see much from that long, hooded robe, but she couldn't help but feeling she knew this person…

Likewise, Aghanim had studied Impa's face and came to the same conclusion. _Have I seen this person before?_

Zee, looked over with some curiosity at their staring contest, but completely disregarding it, cheerfully said, "That's great, I'll go get the keys. Come with me, Mister Aghanim, I'll get your room set up pronto."

And as they left, Impa started to feel her stomach sink. _Where have I seen those yellow eyes before…_

--- --- ---

"Zee, Zee, you're back and you're alive!" squealed a short girl that had magnificently curly brown hair, and who was currently squeezing the life out of Zee by giving her a bear hug that would've made any Goron proud.

"Lina- Can't Breathe…" wheezed out Zee.

"Oh, sorry about that," and she released her death grip, but continued to bombard Zee with questions. "You're back! When did you come? Why didn't you come see me? How come-"

"Geez, give the girl a chance to talk, Lina" interjected a tall, good looking boy with a mischevious glint in his hazel eyes.

"I was Finn, until you so rudely interrupted me-"

Zee started to laugh. Yep, these were her friends all right. "Calm down, you guys, I just guided someone from Death Mountain to Kakariko Village; it's not like the Gorons tried to eat me or anything-"

Lina started to look a little worried. "Gorons don't eat Hylians…do they?"

"Well, they might eat you, because apparently, you have rocks for brains,"

"Hey, I do not-"

"Oh yeah, then how come you didn't know that"

"Because-"

And as those two kept bickering with each other, a tall, dark haired girl and a shorter, flaxen haired boy started to talk to Zee, who was looking in on amusement at her friends' argument.

"Hello Zee."

Zee looked up and smiled "Hello Evelyn, Hi Tado. What are you guys doing here?"

The boy called Tado waved his arms melodramatically, "Ah, sweet Zee, as fair and golden as ever, as beautiful as the first sunset on Lake Hylia. Would you do me the honor of asking your hand-

Evelyn cut in. "Do you want to come with us to the springs? We were planning to have a picnic there today."

"Ah, come on Evelyn, did you really have to cut me off?"

"Yes."

"A picnic sounds great!"

"Yeah, let's go now!"

Apparently, Lina and Finn had stopped their arguing long enough to hear about the picnic, and now were chatting excitedly about the prospect of one.

"Sorry guys, I can't go. I promised Granny that I'd help her with her gather some rare herbs for the potion shop today," said Zee with an apologetic smile.

"But can't you cancel it and make it up to her some other day?" inquired Evelyn.

"I don't think so…Granny specifically asked for me to come today, and well, you know what happens when you stand Granny up…"

All five of them shuddered.

"Well, bye then Zee," winked Finn. "You remember the Chicken Lady, right? Apparently, she lost all of her Cuccos again, so unless you can fly, I'm not sure how you can get to Granny's house… so, have fun!"

Zee groaned. _Not again…_

--- --- ---

"Alright, Miss Anju, if you build the padlock with some wire in-between the wooden slats, I don't think they'll escape anymore. If you want, while I'm at Granny's, I'll pick up a book about cross-breeding for you, because I think if you alter some of the genes, you'll be able to get it so that the Cuccos won't have those types of feathers," Zee yelled over the frantic clucking, as she was trying to hold on to one particularly rambunctious Cucco.

Anju herself was juggling three Cuccos at once, causing feathers to fly everywhere, but she managed to yell out, "You're such a kind girl, helping me out with the Cuccos. If you want to take one with you, it's no troub-AH-AH-AHCHOO!- at all"

And as Anju ran around the little padlock, coughing and chasing after her chickens, who were doing their best to get away from her, Zee could only watch her in amusement and pity. But mostly pity.

--- --- ---

"Thanks for the help," said a wizened, old lady with tufts of black and gray hair. "I have enough Rosemary now, so I should be able to make some tonic with it tonight."

"It was no problem, Granny. After all, you did send that potion to me when I was really sick with the Sleeping Sickness, so I'm just returning the favor," replied Zee.

"Don't flatter me, I'm immune to it, "snapped the old woman. "You want to know why I picked you to come help me? Because you're the only one out of your little group of friends that has a working head on your shoulders." She turned to a cupboard and grabbed out a thick book, which once must have been a beautiful manuscript, now so old and worn that the binding was coming off and the leather cover was ripping, and held it out to the younger girl.

'Take it"

Zee slowly ran her hands over the cover of the book and the pages, feeling the indescribable softness of the paper and drinking in the ink written on it. "I can't take the _Tales" _she whispered softly.

The old lady gave her a withering glare. "Well, who else am I going to give it to? My good-for-nothing son who drinks all day or my crazy daughter who chases after chickens? You think either of them will read it? Besides, what use do I have for a bunch of fairy tales? I only gave it to you because I didn't want the book to take up any more room in my cupboard, so don't you give me that look; just take it!"

Zee took the book, picking it up very gently, and held it to her chest, right above her heart. "Thank you so much, Granny! I promise I'll take good care of it, and I'll come back and help you out too! Bye!" she yelled as she ran out the door, to take Aghanim to the Happy Mask Salesman.

"Good Riddance, I don't want to see your face in here for a while, you understand?" yelled out Granny in response.

--- --- ---

"Ah, Zee, my favorite bringer of happiness, how did your last venture go? You were able to sell the Zora mask, weren't you?" asked everyone's favorite, happy, red-haired, squinty eyed, smiling salesman, none other than the Happy Mask Salesman himself.

Zee started to play with her hair. "I sold it-"

"Well, that's wonderful! I knew you could do it!"

"-butIdon'thavethemoney…"

Instantly, his expression changed. His blood-like eyes flashed, and he manically threw up his arms as he shrieked, "What?! You don't have my money? What are you doing here then? Get out! GET OUT!

"Wait, hold on," Zee whined in protest. "I'm here to introduce you to someone, a customer," she said as she pointed to Aghanim.

"A customer, you say? Well, why didn't you say so in the first place. Hello, good sir, and welcome to the Happy Mask Shop, where Happiness is found within every mask, what can I do for you?" cheerfully replied the Happy Mask Salesman, back to his original, smiling self.

Zee looked uneasily at the two men, and said, "Well, now that you've met one another, I'll just be going now; I have some things to do back at the Inn…bye"

And as she left, the Happy Mask Salesman leaned over with yet a different look, a cold, calculating, predatory look. "Well, then sir, what do you want?"

Aghanim matched the Happy Mask Salesman's expression and grinned. "I want the Mask of Truth"

--- --- ---

"I knew I'd find you up here."

Zee, startled, looked up. "Mother, what are you doing up here?"

Impa moved over to sit next to her daughter. "Wondering why said daughter never showed up for dinner this night." She caught a glimpse of the title of the book that was currently on Zee's lap. "What's this, _Hylian Tales_? So this is what you wasted dinner over, a book, and a book in such bad condition at that?"

Zee, slightly offended, took her book out of Impa's hands and hotly retorted, "Mother, it isn't just some book; this book is valuable and precious to me, it's like a window for my soul."

"Really?"

Zee scowled. "Yes, it is. I've never seen anything much outside of Kakariko or Death Mountain, so when I read this book, it's like my heart beats with excitement. To read about Hyrule Castle or the Gerudo Desert, to know that in a totally different place, someone out there is looking at the same sky and stars; it's awe-inspiring. I want to go out, see those places, and have adventures, like the character in this tale, the Hero of Time."

"But the Hero of Time lived the rest of his life tortured by what he had experienced, doomed to live his life without anyone knowing him at all"

"But his heroic struggles against the odds and his unwavering defense of the country; shouldn't they be admired?" asked Zee.

Impa paused before she gave her answer. "You're right. You've only lived in this remote village, so it's natural that you are attracted to the excitement and adventure of living like a traveler or living with the crowd. But life is never what it is in books. Reality isn't always so wonderful and glamorous."

Impa stood up. "I have to finish some business downstairs. Dinner will be in the kitchen if you want some. Try not to stay up so late."

And with that, she left, leaving Zee to the book and her dreams of adventure.

* * *

A/N: I heart the crazy Cucco lady and the creepy Happy Mask Salesman. Why? I dunno, they're just so awesome!


End file.
